Richard Corben "Bloodstar"- Page A

Published by Ariel Books September 1979

This adaptation takes on more than just Robert E. Howard's world view of (ancient) struggle and heroics. This version includes a doom-filled science fiction future back story that makes Bloodstar something more than an imagined backward glance to a simpler time of war, barbarians and adventure.

Richard Corben's Bloodstar work is copyrighted to 1975 and appeared as a hard cover book in 1976. The promotional text referred to the book itself as a "Graphic Novel." The Howard story was adapted by novelist John Jakes, and Corben also copy-edited and changed some of the material by Jakes. A paperback version put out by Morning Star Press in 1979 contained relettered, revised text by Jason Pocsik.

There are claims that Corben's effort on this qualifies as the "first true graphic novel" as the tale was not first printed in serial form but as one single effort in 1975, thus predating Eisner's 1978 A Contract With God. The story itself is adapted from Howard's Valley of the Worm, and it appears to be influenced by an earlier adaption made by Gil Kane, Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas that appeared in a 1973 Supernatural Thrillers magazine put out by Marvel Comics. The Corben adapted story also seems to use the H. G. Wells short story The Star as a framing device.